Phillip and Debbie Kellogg: Good Neighbors
Posted on 25. Jan, 2010 by Kathryn Zarczynski in Hill Heros
Debbie and Phillip Kellogg, photo by Francesca Andre photography (http://www.francescaandre.com)
Want to find inspired ways to get involved in the neighborhood? Take an example from our neighbors, Phillip and Debbie Kellogg.
Phillip Kellogg
Has the positive personal experience of living in Fort Greene paved the way for your new position at the Fulton Avenue Business Alliance?
Absolutely. So much satisfaction in all the aspects of life here led me to seek out the position when I heard it was available. I get so much much more out of the position that I ever did in the corporate world, where I spent more than 22 years as Art Director or Creative Director. All the skills I honed in advertising work in this new position.
In the 9 years you’ve lived in Fort Greene, what community volunteer activities have you been involved with or initiated?
—The Carlton/Willoughby Avenue Block Association, where I serve as Secretary. Here we address issues as wide ranging as postal service, crime, influencing public officials and comments about local development plans. More importantly, it serves to bring neighbors together socially, to encourage them to know and look out for one other. In Manhattan, I was active in similar capacities but it never felt so personal.
—The Halloween Festival for the Fort Greene Park Conservancy, where I act as co-chair with John Scheffler. This annual event entertains over 1,000 kids and their families. With face-painting , pumpkin picking and hay rides.
—The DeKalb Avenue Merchants Association. This organization existed loosely for a few years but was struggling. In the Fall of 2008, I was asked if I knew someone to work with them and I recommended myself. I created and organized the splendid four-day inauguration event the weekend of the Obama inauguration. We had a major street party, created special promotions for each participating business or restaurant with Obama- themed drinks or dishes. The local middle school, MS 113 Ronald Edmonds, volunteered kids to sing , and their artwork was on display in store windows. A band of roving musicians brought down the house when they performed. The event got lots of kudos from folks in the neighborhood who were thrilled to be “riding the waves of that historical moment.” It was a joyous celebration of tolerance. That’s what this neighborhood is all about.
—Restaurant week. In March, I had the ithought to have more DeKalb businesses participate in the borough wide event. We tripled the number of usual participants. The idea was to create DeKalb Avenue as a destination dining experience.
—Make Music New York. In June, this city-wide program came to DeKalb Avenue and linked musicians with local venues for outdoor free performances. It was a no-budget success.
—At a local church, I am the head of an archiving committee that recently placed a treasure trove of historical documents in the hands of the Brooklyn Historical Society. Together the church and BHS have initiated an ongoing oral history project for the Fort Greene community-stay tuned.
— I served as a local tour guide and volunteer regularly for overnight stays at a Men’s shelter in the neighborhood.
Of all the places there are to live, what keeps you here? Is it different here than in other places?
I just love living here. I consider myself extraordinarily lucky to have outdoor space, a vibrant street life, great moments on the stoop with impromptu pizza parties or meals. There is no need for a summer home if you live here. Neighbors have a visceral connection with one another over good or bad news. It is very different than other places. In Manhattan, I barely knew the neighbors on my floor.
Has the Saturday Farmer’s Market had a big impact on the community vibe?
It has had a tremendous impact. It has become the Fort Greene Town Square. It can take 2 hours to do 20 minutes of shopping because of chats with neighbors, visits with the farmers. You get to see smiles on people’s faces. It is the single most successful market launch in the green market system.
Do you make special efforts to support the local businesses?
Yes, because when you are living in a small town (and that’s what this community feels like) that’s what you do to keep the economy thriving and help your neighbors. We can’t change the whole economy but we can keep trying to support local businesses. Taken together, all those small efforts add up to be meaningful.
Debbie Kellogg
During 40 boisterous evenings over the course of four years with my Fort Greene book club, I’ve come to know Debbie Kellogg quite well. Growing up in a big Irish family on Long Island, she’s learned to spin a good tale. And laugh. And she knows how to work a crowd. And mediate. We also bump elbows at Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian fundraisers (we are both members) and events in the larger community. They are always a success and fun when she is involved.
Debbie managed advertising account executives in her early career; fundraised, and developed strategies and ad campaigns for a wide variety of clients. Her shift from the ad world(a true mad woman)) came about because she decided life wasn’t just about the money. Her company was going public, and she didn’t feel grounded. She looked for a volunteer opportunity and committed to work as a mentor at Dress for Success for a one year period, once a week. Shortly after 9/11 she was laid off from the company but continued to meet her mentee weekly. Her admiration for the kind of work done there eventually led to a position at Dress for Success as a Corporate Relations Director for three years. She has continued to work at non-profits since then, mostly in corporate development at Partnership for a Drug-Free America and after that, at Victim Services.
A desire for a change in scenery from Manhattan brought Phillip and Debbie Kellogg to Fort Greene over nine years ago. They wanted more space, and a yard. They fell in love with the neighborhood during a house tour.
Since moving here, Debbie has connected actively with her neighborhood in many ways. She has been a core volunteer in charge of the “pumpkin patch” at the Fort Greene Conservancy’s annual Pumpkin festival. While Phillip was head of the Fort Greene Association, she designed and implemented one of their most successful fundraising efforts ever – over $45,000 was raised.
Debbie is a member of the Carlton/Willoughby Avenue Block Association and helps coordinate annual stoop sales and plant sales to raise money for tree pit plantings, plus their annual barbecue and Christmas parties.
What Debbie says has special value for her is the strong sense of community on Carlton Avenue and in the larger area of Fort Greene. It is like living in a very diverse small town. It is “an embarrassment of riches” she says. She knows the Farmers at the Saturday Farmer’s Market well enough to be invited to their weddings. She sews stuffed animals and baby clothes for sale by a new local flower store, Stem on South Oxford at Fulton, opened by her friends recently, not just because she can sew—and can she sew—but to support a new small business in our midst.
Carlton is the kind of active block where neighbors help one another in times of emergencies. Someone with a problem can ring a neighbor’s’ bell, or run next door with keys if a dog needs to get walked and its owner is delayed. Carlton has special safety meetings to address problems like a recent series of break-ins on the block. All agreed to be vigilant and outspoken if they saw something unusual occur. A stray dog wandering on their street may be taken in by a neighbor and given a loving home—like the one who has brightened up Debbie and Phillip’s life. Carlton is his name.
